More SpaceX Success

The latest SpaceX launch has been another success! Not only did the first stage successfully complete a landing back at NASA’s Cape Canaveral complex, but it also made significant deliveries to the ISS.

Most important amongst the Dragon capsule 5000 pounds of cargo was the International Docking Adapter. Presently, only Russian spacecraft can dock with the ISS. The International Docking Adapter will open up the ISS to mating with spacecraft from a variety of countries and private organizations such as SpaceX. An adapter was originally sent up last summer, but it was on the ill-fated Falcon 9 that broke apart only minutes after launch.

Other experiments among the cargo is:

a small DNA sequencer

living heart cells to test how they perform in zero gravity

muscle and bone loss

a phase-change material to be tried as a heat exchanger to regulate temperature on the ISS